Effects of a Ripple
by Mistress Sezza
Summary: Set in Season 9's 'Ripple Effect'. A Daniel from an alternate universe gives our favourite couple a nudge in the right direction. SamDaniel. OneShot. Fluff. Rating: Soft M


**So I realise I'm a little late to this party (like 10-20 years too late!) but my boyfriend just recently got me into Stargate and I have to say I am OBSESSED with this pairing!**

**I'm still mad about them trying to pass Sam and Jack off as a thing. Ugh. **

**Anyways, so I realise that it's likely no one will read this, but I dreamt this after watching this episode and I kept waking up and had to write it all down. So if there are some parts that don't make sense it's because I wrote it at 3am in the dark while half asleep. **

**That said, enjoy!**

* * *

_Spoilers up to and including Season 9 Ep 13_

_Based on Season 9 Ep 13 - Ripple Effect_

* * *

It was certainly..._unusual._ But then again, he would be hard pressed to remember a day that _hadn't_ devolved into strangeness in the nine years since he had first travelled through the Stargate.

Daniel shuffled the papers in his hands as he entered the tiny interview room. He dumped the files on the table and took his seat across from where the Black-AU Teal'c sat, his giant hands folded together on the table.

"So, err..." Daniel sorted through his notes, trying to decipher where the most significant point of divergence from their own time stream could occur. "Let's start with the Jaffa Rebellion." Daniel decided, offering the Alternate Teal'c a small smile.

Alternate Teal'c bowed his head in acquiescence. "We won our freedom in the battle for Dakara," he began, "and on that day, not only did we defeat Ba'al and the replicators, you ensured that Anubis would never again threaten this galaxy. And then all Jaffa were united under our new leader, Bra'tac."

"Bra'tac?" Daniel questioned, eyebrows rising slightly, "Really? That hasn't happened here yet." He bowed his head to scribble in his notebook.

Alternate Teal'c continued on, not to be dissuaded from the chronological recounting of events. "Then, with this new threat to this galaxy, I returned to SG-1."

Daniel nodded along, looking up from his notes, "Right. Along with Colonel Mitchell, myself, and eventually, Colonel Carter, who rejoined following her-"

"Following her honeymoon." Teal'c attempted to finish his sentence.

Daniel stared blankly at Teal'c for a moment, not quite sure he had heard the Jaffa correctly. "W-what? No, I was gonna say, following her stint on the _Prometheus_..." Daniel trailed off, blinking rapidly as his mind tried to comprehend. Now it was Teal'c's turn to look confused. "H-honeymoon?" Daniel managed to stammer out, his voice rising an octave or two.

"Indeed."

"Am-ahh...wha-erm...That is, I mean-ah...who?" Daniel fumbled over his words, doing his best impersonation of Porky Pig. Realising he was basically incoherent, he tried to clarify, "I mean to say, ah, who...who did she, uh, erm..." His second try was not much better.

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow in response, one corner of his mouth ticking upward into what Daniel recognised as the Jaffa's _'mildly amused'_ face.

"Perhaps it would be better to not divulge such information. As, if it has not yet happened in your universe, the knowledge may or may not inadvertently diverge you from your current intended path."

Daniel exhaled a laugh, a lopsided grin pulling at his mouth, "C'mon..." Daniel urged. But the Jaffa remained stoic as ever, one eyebrow curling upward in disapproval. The humour quickly disappeared from Daniel's face, a bewildered frown replacing it. "N-no? Oh, o-okay."

**'~*~*~*~'**

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing in tiny circles to try to alleviate the pressure beginning to build there.

"Are you alright, Samantha?" Martouf asked, watching her in concern as they walked side by side towards the mess hall. Sam gave him a tight smile, "Yeah, fine. Just a little...strained, is all."

They had just come from the mass of Carters' that now occupied her lab. The cacophony of her own voice reverberating had been giving her a headache, and she was glad when Martouf showed up to give her an excuse to get the hell out of there.

Not that she wasn't grateful for the help, it certainly meant she could theorise and run calculations a hell of a lot faster. But Sam had quickly realised that if she currently didn't have any bright ideas, then neither did any of the other Carters'. And if they didn't somehow manage to neutralise that black hole soon, well...

Sam and Martouf entered the mess, quickly finding an empty table. "Do you want anything?" Sam called as she made her way over to the coffee station. Martouf shook his head, a blinding smile lighting up his face. "No, I am fine. Thank you."

Sam poured herself a mug from the pitcher and made her way back to the table, placing her mug down and taking the seat directly opposite Martouf.

"So..." she grimaced, unsure of how to start. "How are things in your universe?"

"You mean between us?" Martouf raised his eyebrows knowingly.

She smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by her apparent transparentness. "I'm a little curious." She admitted.

Martouf grinned, showing his perfectly white teeth. Sam idly wondered if the Tok'ra had toothpaste on their planet.

"Things developed, but with you being on the other side of the galaxy, well, long distance relationships can be difficult. I eventually joined the Stargate program to be closer to you. We worked together, even lived together for quite some time."

Sam's brow furrowed; she pursed her lips, about to say something, but Martouf continued. "But in the end, things didn't work out. You're with someone else now."

Sam's eyebrows raised of their own accord. "Who?" She asked, trying not to seem too eager. Martouf opened his mouth to respond, but right then, Black-AU Carter interrupted.

"I think I found something." She sat down next to Sam and opened her laptop. Sam did her best to hide her disappointment and focus on the screen instead.

"This is the post-mortem analysis pf the P3W-451 incident." Sam recognised the data on screen. She turned to Martouf to explain further. "A planet whose orbit strayed too close to a black hole. One of our teams was attempting to gate back at the same time, and as a result, the SGC couldn't shut down the gate from this end." Sam looked back to the Alternate Carter, frowning in confusion. "I don't see how this-" Black-AU Carter interrupted, anticipating her question.

"We were unable to sever the connection because Stargate Command was still connected to the singularity's gravitational field through the open Stargate."

Sam cupped her chin in her hand, thinking. "But we're not trying to-" Alternate Carter waggled a finger at her. "In that case, we used a shaped charge to deliver an energy surge to the matter stream, forcing the matter stream to jump to a different gate, thereby severing the connection."

"That could explain the sound we heard," Sam realised, "and the superfluous energy signature that accompanied the matter stream from the first wormhole. It was some sort of large-"

"Maybe a supernova or gamma-ray burst." Alternate Carter jumped in. "Discharging at the exact millisecond that wormhole passed through that singularity. It's a one in a billion fluke that ruptured sub-space and created a point of confluence that drew the affected realities into this one."

Sam nodded along, continuing her Alternate's theory. "Then to seal the bridge between the multiverse, we have to target that point of confluence. Basically, recreate the circumstances that caused the breach in the first place."

"How is that possible?" Martouf interjected.

"Well, the odds would increase significantly if we took the wormhole out of the equation." Sam replied. Martouf looked from her to her Alternate. "Then what happens to us?"

The Alternate Carter paused before replying. "We'd be stranded here."

Silence fell for a moment as the gravity of the situation weighed down heavily on all three.

"We'd still have one major obstacle to overcome." Alternate Carter broke the quietus and turned to face her. "How do we deliver an explosive device into the singularity?"

Sam thought it over for a moment before smiling as her mind worked out an answer.

"We get help from a friend."

Both Alternate Carter and Martouf glanced at each other, before turning back to her.

"Don't worry," she placated, "I'll speak to General Landry."

Alternate Carter looked as if she was about to say something, but something behind Sam had caught her eye, and she craned her neck to see over Sam's head. A big grin then broke out across her face.

"You do that," Alternate Carter closed her laptop and shoved it under her arm as she scooted back her seat. "Let me know how it goes." And she scurried off to the other side of the mess hall.

Sam turned in her chair, eyes following her Alternate, wondering what had called her away so suddenly. She watched as Black-AU Sam met up with her Black-AU Daniel, and threw one arm around his neck in greeting. One of his arms snaked around her waist, while he pulled out a chair for her with the other hand. Sam had to smile at that. Daniel was a gentleman in any universe.

Sam looked back to Martouf, who had also been watching her duplicate's interactions. He raised one eyebrow at her, and Sam merely shrugged.

Her own Daniel appeared then, cradling both a mug of steaming coffee in one hand, and a dessert bowl of blue Jello in the other, followed by her Teal'c and Mitchell, each carrying a tray piled high with possibly inedible foodstuffs.

"Hey." Daniel smiled down at her as he set his goods down on the table, then plopped down in the chair next to her. "Hey yourself." She replied, returning his easy smile.

"What up guys." Colonel Mitchell greeted as he and Teal'c took the spots next to Martouf.

"Here." Daniel pushed the bowl of Jello towards her, the blue squares wobbling precariously. "It was the last one. I, ah, figured I should nab it for you before, you know, the rest of you come." He waved his hand vaguely towards the mess entry.

She grinned at him. "Thanks Daniel." She picked up her spoon from her coffee and wiped it off on a napkin. "Here, we'll share." She nudged the bowl back to the centre between them.

"So," Colonel Mitchell began as he spooned a mouthful of..._something_ into his gob. "How's the group project going Carter? I gotta reckon a room full of your genius is bound to come up with something to save our asses."

"Well actually," Sam paused as she and Daniel both dug their spoons into the Jello bowl, "We may have an idea..."

**'~*~*~*~'**

Black-AU Sam and Black-AU Daniel watched their doppelgängers from across the mess hall. "C'mon Sammy," Alternate Daniel whined, keeping his voice low, "Just look at me...I mean him. He's clueless." She looked towards where Daniel gestured, watching as this universe's Daniel brought his Sam her favourite dessert, and noted how he would surreptitiously watch her whenever her face was turned away. The Alternate Sam hummed in agreement and turned back to her laptop screen. A mischievous smirk crossed her face as her eyes flicked up to her Daniel. "Reminds me of just how clueless _you_ were before you realised I liked you back."

Daniel pursed his lips, frowning in mock offence. "Hey, I don't see you having any lightbulb moments over there either." He nodded his head in the direction of their duplicates.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe we just don't get together in this universe."

"See that's just it," Daniel lowered his gaze to look at her over the top of his glasses, "I've, ah, done a little _recon_, if you will, and it seems that in every universe that you and I are on SG-1 together, we're, well, _together_ together."

Sam stopped typing and closed her laptop, regarding him suspiciously. "You've been questioning the other teams? What happened to keeping a low profile?"

Daniel held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I was subtle!"

"Mmm-hmm." Sam hummed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Besides, we are kind of about to screw them over, don't you think the least we could do is help them out in this regard? A gentle nudge in the right direction?"

Sam sighed. She knew once her Daniel had his mind set on something, there was no talking him out of it. Sam leant her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand.

"What did you have in mind?"

Daniel grinned.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Sam triple checked the time-dilation device that had been installed by Kvasir. It wasn't that she didn't trust the little guy's installation job, no. Sam hated to admit it to herself but, she was nervous. Even if they were somehow able to pull off this drop without being sucked into the black hole's gravitational pull themselves and thereby suffering an incredibly slow, painful death as their bodies are ripped apart atom by atom, then there was still the matter of what to do with all the _other_ SG-1's when they got back. It certainly wouldn't be fair to them to leave them stranded in a world that's not their own, forever disrupting their lives and those that they had left behind in their own universes. Their people back home would never know what happened to them. They would have simply disappeared.

Sam stood and stretched her sore muscles with a sigh, exiting the room and beginning to make her way back to the bridge. She thought of Janet, the Desert-AU Janet, and how desperate she was to get back to her own world and save the people there. Of course, that would also mean Desert-AU Martouf would be leaving too.

Sam frowned, deep in thought. She was unsure of exactly how she felt about that.

There had been a moment earlier before they had left Earth, when she had almost kissed Martouf. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Kvasir had interrupted them, and Sam found she had to remind herself that he was not really _her_ Martouf. Besides, she had to admit, hearing Martouf say things never worked out between them, even in his reality, had given her some sense of closure. She had never allowed herself to explore her feelings for Martouf, given that they were so wrapped up and complicated by the presence of Lantash and his relationship with Jolinar. Now, she was somewhat glad nothing further had developed. One less heartbreak.

Sam turned a corner, lost in her thoughts, and ran smack bang into Daniel.

"Oof!" The wind knocked out of her, Sam lost her balance, and would have hit the ground hard had Daniel not reacted and caught her. He lunged forward, one hand gripping her upper arm and the other wrapping around her waist to hold her up. She was sure they would look like they were preforming some epic dip in a Tango contest, if anyone had happened to be watching. Except for the fact that her arms stuck out all akimbo like one of those whacky inflatable dancers that are always flailing about in front of car dealerships.

"Sorry Sam!" Daniel huffed, a little out of breath himself. "Are you okay?"

Flustered, Sam tried to regain her breath. "Yeah. I'm okay." Daniel straightened, setting her back on her feet. His left arm stayed wrapped around her waist though, steading her, and Sam just now realised how incredibly close he was. She was suddenly reminded of the Black-AU Sam and Daniel in the mess hall – how he had grabbed her waist, how comfortable they were touching. Sam also noticed just how warm and firm the chest muscles beneath her hands were, and she quickly pulled away, swallowing hard.

The corner of Daniel's mouth ticked up in a half smile, and she had to look away, praying to the cosmos that he wasn't able to see on her face just how flustered he had made her.

"Where were you off to in such a rush?" The fog in her brain finally cleared enough for her to form coherent sentences.

"Actually, I was coming to find you." That immediately shocked Sam out of her daydreams, and she snapped to attention.

"What is it? Something's wrong?" Her mind whirred through all the possible disasters and catastrophes.

"No, no, nothing like that." Daniel rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. "I just wanted to, erm...talk. If you have a minute?"

"Oh. Sure." Sam replied, puzzled.

Daniel turned and lead her from the main hallway and down a narrower, side corridor. There was less light here, but still enough for Sam to see the tension in his face. "What is it Daniel?" Sam questioned, her concern for her friend now growing as he hesitated.

"Sam, listen. I just wanted to...to..." Daniel swallowed and dropped his gaze to his hands, his fingers twisting around each other nervously. Sam patiently waited for him to collect his thoughts. "Look, this mission could be one-way. And I know, you'll say that all our missions could be our last. But, what we do is dangerous. And I-I just didn't want to, you know, face another death without doing...doing this." Daniel exhaled, as if steeling himself, and looked up at her, his deep blue eyes piercing her.

"Wha-" she started to ask, but suddenly Daniel's mouth was on hers, and she couldn't get the word out.

At first, they seemed frozen in time, shocked into stillness. Sam's eyes flew wide open, and she could see that Daniel had his screwed tightly shut behind his glasses. Then, Daniel's lips began to move against hers, and her body responded of its own accord, her eyelids fluttering closed and her arm wrapping itself around his neck. One of his hands fell to her waist; warm, even through the fabric of her shirt, and the other hand cupped her face, drawing her closer. Their lips moved together in unison, growing more and more fervent until finally they had to break apart for air.

Daniel pulled back, his thumb stroking over her cheek as he searched her face for something. She gave him no hint of regret or uncertainty, so he brought his lips back down to hers. Sam had no idea what possessed her to do such a thing, but she bit down on Daniel's full bottom lip, drawing it into her mouth, wanting to taste it, to taste him. Daniel groaned into her mouth as she released his lip, and the sound sent lightning bolts straight down to the crux of her thighs.

His body pressed against her own, Daniel pushed her back against the wall, a dull thud reverberating through the cool metal as the force of their combined bodies slammed against it. His mouth was hot and needy against hers, and all thoughts had long fled from her mind as she did all she could to respond to his desperate need in kind.

His hands roamed under her shirt, warm against her ribcage. He slid his hands down – rough, calloused fingers danced down her sides, spreading fire across her skin. He continued down, over the curve of her ass, pushing her even harder against him, before coming to rest on her thighs. In a swift motion, he bent his knees, hands clamping on her thighs as he lifted them up and then straightened, pinning her firmly against the wall with his body. Her legs automatically wrapped themselves around his waist.

From this angle, the hot, hard bulge in his pants was pressed firmly against her centre, and Sam gasped at the sensation, her head falling back against the metal wall with an echoing thud. Daniel seized the opportunity to lavish her neck, kissing, sucking, biting his way down to her collarbone. Sam groaned, and wrapped both arms around his neck, gripping his hair between her fingers and giving it a few sharp tugs to bring his mouth back to hers. She felt Daniel grind against her, his hips pushing his incessant need up into her, so close! If only there was less fabric between them…

"Ah! Oh." Sam gasped as Daniel ground into her centre, and he took the opportunity to plunder her mouth, his tongue caressing, exploring, dominating.

Sam bunched the green fabric of his jacket in her hands, tugging it down his shoulders, needing to feel more of him. His hands left her body for a moment to allow it to slide from his arms, the khaki BDU crumpling to a pile on the floor. Sam ran her hands over his shoulders and chest appreciatively. He had certainly filled out over the years working with the military, and Sam was not complaining one bit.

Daniel rocked against her once more, and Sam moaned, gasping. Her hands trailed down, down, reaching his belt, she grasped the buckle and-

"WE ARE APPROACHING THE SINGULARITY." Her own voice blared over the ship's intercom.

Daniel groaned in frustration as they broke off their kiss, his head dropping to her chest for a moment to catch his breath. Carefully, he lowered her to her feet, taking a step back to allow them both to slow their panting breaths and racing hearts. As they gazed at each other, he could read all the emotions that flickered across her face as well as he could read his own Sam. Shock and confusion, but also a burning desire.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Ah, I guess that means you're needed elsewhere."

"Yeah," Sam breathed, still somewhat dazed, "um, bridge." She moved to the end of the corridor but paused before reaching the main hallway. She glanced back at him, her expression flickering again, before she turned the corner and was gone.

Running his hands through his hair and trying to will his blood to return to his brain, Daniel chuckled. "Daniel, you're a lucky dog in any universe." He muttered to himself.

Daniel headed off in the other direction to meet up with the others, stopping off by the lockers for a change of clothes on the way.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Sam plopped down into the seat at the control panel, still not completely present. She shook her head violently, trying to clear it of the inappropriate thoughts. Now was not the time.

"Ready?" The Alternate Carter asked, watching her with a raised eyebrow. Sam gave a sharp nod.

Sam focussed on the data on the screen – the closer they got to the singularity, the more the gravitational pull would start to negatively affect them. Their timing had to be precise down to the millisecond.

The bridge doors slide open with a hiss and her Teal'c entered, followed by Daniel.

Sam quickly glued her eyes back to the screen, her face suddenly on fire.

"Calculating minimal prime distance to warhead launch." She hoped her voice sounded normal as she punched in the procedure codes. She felt, more than saw, Daniel stand behind her, felt the slight heaviness as his hands came to rest on the back of her chair. She fought the urge to turn around, her eyes burning a hole in the display screen instead. She was staring too intently to notice the Alternate Carter glance over and smirk at her.

"I've got it. Relaying the information." Sam looked up at her duplicate expectantly as the calculations finished running.

"Received." The Alternate Carter confirmed, her monitor pinging with the incoming alert. "Engaging sub-light engines and proceeding to co-ordinates." Delicately, she began to manoeuvre the ship closer to the point Sam had mapped out.

The bridge doors slid open again and Colonel Mitchell stepped in, his hands raised. Sam frowned in confusion, until the reason for his capitulatory stance stepped in behind him.

The rest of the Black-AU team entered, Zat guns raised.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked from behind her. The Alternate Mitchell gave his duplicate a shove, the Colonel stumbling over to where her Daniel and Teal'c stood.

"There's been a change of flight plans." The Alternate Mitchell aimed his weapon in Sam's direction. Sam looked over at her duplicate, surprise etched on her face. Her doppelgänger merely raised her eyebrows, a smug smile settling on her lips.

Anger coursed through Sam's veins. _Dammit Carter, _she berated herself, _how can you be so easily tricked by your own self? First the RepliCarter and now this! _Clearly, she didn't know her own mind as well as she thought she did, and that thought alone terrified her.

Alternate Mitchell waved his gun at her, "On your feet."

Sam rose slowly, her palms up. She glanced over at her team, and Daniel met her gaze. She could see the worry behind his circular glasses.

The Black-AU Mitchell and Teal'c forced them down the hall and into the brig at gunpoint.

"You wanna tell us what's going on?" Colonel Mitchell queried. His duplicate blocked the doorway, weapon aimed at the Colonel's chest. "We're making an unscheduled detour." The Alternate Mitchell announced.

"Yeah, and just how far out of our way is this little detour going to take us?" Daniel piped up from his position behind Sam, the distain evident in his voice.

"'Bout three weeks." The Alternate Mitchell replied, and Sam suddenly realised their intended destination.

"You're planning on taking this ship to Atlantis. I mean, given the parallels between our two realities I can't think of anywhere else we'd be going."

"As soon as we complete our mission, we'll drop you at the nearest habitable planet." The Alternate Mitchell offered ever so graciously. "Til then," his face then cracked into a wicked grin, "have fun." He closed the door on them then, the locking mechanism beeped once as it sealed them in.

A sense of dread filled her, made her heavy, like a slugshot in the gut. She turned slowly to face her team, to face Daniel. He didn't return her gaze.

_Maybe he's worrying about the same thing I am. _Sam thought to herself as they discussed their next course of action. Sam looked away, training her eyes on the floor.

_Or maybe, _said another, more sinister voice in her head, _he's regretting that anything even happened._

Sam swallowed the lump in her throat as Teal'c removed the security camera in the room, crushing it in his massive hand. Three weeks. Stuck in a room with Daniel. _Hoo boy. This could be rough._

Sam's eyes kept wandering over to the archaeologist as they took stock of what little supplies they had in the room. She couldn't help but surreptitiously watch him as he lifted a crate, the muscles in his forearm flexing and his biceps straining against his black shirt sleeve. The fact that he had removed his jacket made it all the more difficult for Sam to concentrate on the wires for the door lock that she was fiddling with.

Sam glanced over once more as Daniel reached up to remove another crate from the shelf, his shirt riding up in the process and exposing the skin across his hips and lower abs. Sam remembered those hips pressing against her and she flushed, her face suddenly on fire. She turned back to her wires, trying to think gross thoughts. _Peas, Goa'uld slugs, Dr. McKay..._

Ever vigilant, Teal'c of the Free Jaffa Nation smirked.

**'~*~*~*~'**

After figuring out what they were after, orchestrating a complex plan that involved deception, double crosses, and a semi-naked Mitchell, they had finally managed to restrain the Black-AU team and return the _Prometheus_ to Earth.

Daniel stood in the gate room next to Cam and General Landry. Sam had, as usual, figured out a way to save the day and send everyone back to their original realities, safe and sound. She really was brilliant, he mused as he stared down at the mass of blonde hair sat in front of him. _Brilliant and, so beautiful._ Daniel's brows pincered together, trying to scrub that inappropriate thought from his mind and concentrate on what Sam was saying instead. _Technobabble, as Jack would have put it._

"Sir, we've established a wormhole to PX7-455. Now when Sargent Siler is finished, we'll fire the directed-energy weapon through the gate. If I'm right, it should reverse the space time rupture, effectively inverting the convergence effect." Daniel tried to follow along, he really did, but even General Landry looked to him in confusion, fuzzy eyebrows shooting up his forehead. Daniel could only shake his head, eyes rolling behind his glasses. Next to him, Cam merely shrugged. The only person that could keep up with Carter were the other Carters. And the Asgard, he supposed, glancing at the tiny, pink form of Kvasir.

Sam was still going, "Each team gated in from a different point of origin. Once the convergence effect has been reversed, we'll dial those difference points of origin and create wormholes that will follow the inter-universal pathways already created by their initial trips here."

"I got it, I got it. They're going back." General Landry interrupted, finally getting the gist.

"Alright, clear the gate room," the General barked, "close the blast doors and fire the weapon."

The cylindrical weapon powered up, glowing brighter and brighter until a white beam of energy shot forth, piercing the Stargate's event horizon.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Daniel held his breath.

"We have a stable wormhole," Sam announced, "Three-point-four seconds. It worked." She glanced back at him, the relief evident in her expression as a grin cracked across her face. Daniel couldn't help but return her smile; it was infectious, intoxicating.

"Open up the blast doors. Bring 'em in." The General ordered. The thick steel retracted, revealing the Black-AU team being led into the gateroom by armed guards.

Their heads bowed in defeat; Daniel suddenly felt bad for the Alternate SG-1. He couldn't help but think, if they had only asked, he and the others would have gladly helped them if they could. Daniel exhaled through his nose. Realistically though, he knew that General Landry and the United States Air Force would have never willingly given up the ZPM, and if he knew that, then his doppelgänger certainly knew it too.

As he watched them ascend the ramp to the open Stargate, his duplicate suddenly turned and, meeting Daniel's gaze, he winked. Daniel was sure his eyebrows were somewhere in his hairline. _Did he just... What was that about? _Daniel glanced around, wondering if anyone else has seen. Judging by the apparent lack of suspicious looks being cast his way, Daniel guessed not.

The Black-AU team disappeared through the event horizon. The gate whooshed closed behind them, and there was a flurry of movement as the next team was bought in, and the process repeated.

Soon, the only Alternate SG-1 that was left was Janet's. _And Martouf's._ A small voice in the back of Daniel's mind added grimly.

He had his back turned to the pair in question, but he could still hear them murmuring quietly to each other behind him, he just couldn't quite work out what they were saying. Daniel did his best not to look like he was moping, and kept his eyes trained carefully on the floor, hands in his pockets.

"Have all the other teams left yet, sir?" Desert-AU Janet questioned the General.

"You're the last ones to go."

Daniel caught movement in the corner of his eye, and he turned his head just in time to see Martouf place a delicate kiss on Sam's cheek. Jealousy stabbed through his heart like a Zat shot, and Daniel looked down at his boots.

"Your presence has been sorely missed on our team." He heard Martouf say.

"Just out of curiosity, where did I go?" Sam looked to Janet, and Daniel also raised his head, having been wondering the same thing. He caught the odd look that Desert-AU Daniel and Janet shared, before Janet stepped forward to reply. "Maternity leave." She smiled, then enveloped Sam in a hug, and Daniel caught his Desert-AU self grinning back at him. Daniel's brow furrowed in confusion.

Finally, the last team made their way up the ramp, plague cure in hand, and through the wormhole. He glanced over at Sam, trying to gauge her thoughts, but she merely stared at the empty Stargate, her expression carefully blank.

Daniel quietly excused himself, plodding along back to his office, where he could hopefully distract himself from the terribly inconvenient thoughts that plagued his mind and stung at his heart like wasps.

Closing his office door behind him, Daniel turned and rest his forehead on the cool metal. _Pregnant. _Daniel struggled to scrub that particular mental image from his mind. _Janet's Sam was pregnant. _And he would bet all the artifacts in his office that the father was a certain hockey-loving General.

Daniel groaned and softly banged his head against the door, once, twice.

He sighed, _no point dwelling on it Jackson._ Daniel moved over to his desk and plopped down heavily in the leather chair.

An hour or two later, Daniel sat with his palms pushed into his cheeks, his glasses slightly askew as he stared blankly at the ancient scroll before him, translation guides and reference books covering every inch of his desk. He sighed heavily, moving his fingers underneath his glasses to rub at his tired eyes.

"Knock, knock." Came a familiar voice from the doorway, accompanied by two sharp taps.

Daniel looked up from his texts, blinking rapidly to clear his bleary eyes.

"Oh Sam, hey." Without his permission, a smile automatically broke out across his face as the Colonel entered his office.

Sam offered him a tight smile in return, but he could tell something was wrong. She shifted from foot to foot, her eyes darting around the room but never landing. She seemed almost…nervous? But all the Alternate SG-1's had returned to their respective time streams safely and everything was back to normal, what else was there to be nervous about? Especially around him. Was it something he did?

Daniel's expression melted into a frown and he tilted his head down, gazing at her over the top of his glasses in concern.

"Sam? What is it?"

Sam sighed, then straightened, her hands clasped behind her back in military attention, and her face set with determination.

"We need to talk." Her voice was flat, void of emotion, and Daniel suddenly felt like his blood had been replaced with shards of ice, cold spreading up his veins and towards his heart.

_Oh god, it IS something I did! _

Daniel tried to swallow the lump in his throat to no avail. "Erm, wha-what about?" Hoping his panic wasn't evident on his face, Daniel picked up a pencil and twirled it around his fingers, going for nonchalant. It didn't work. He fumbled, the pencil flinging from his grasp and fell to the floor with a clatter.

He glanced up at Sam, who merely raised an eyebrow. Daniel grimaced, "Sorry." He muttered, dropping to his knees to fetch the fallen implement. It had rolled under his desk. Back bent, he shuffled forwards on his knees to fish it out. Sam took advantage of his distraction to reply.

"What happened earlier. On the ship. The…kiss."

Daniel shot up, his brain trying to catch up. Unfortunately for him, he was still halfway under the desk.

BANG!

Daniel clutched his head, sucking in a pained breath through his teeth and withdrawing, much more carefully this time, from under the desk. Gingerly, he rubbed the back of his head, skull throbbing uncomfortably, and winced.

"Daniel, are you okay?" Daniel looked up, finding that Sam was suddenly a lot closer to him, concern swirling in her big, beautiful, blue eyes.

"Y-yeah," Daniel fell back into his chair, if only to put a little distance between him and Sam so that his heart could start up again, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sam just watched him expectantly, and Daniel realised she was still waiting for an answer. "Erm, I don't...what do you..."

Sam finally broke her stoic pose. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, moving to lean against the side of Daniel's desk. "Come on Daniel, you know what I'm talking about. After a kiss like _that_ you can't expect me to... to..." She trailed off, obviously noticing what Daniel could only imagine was a complete open-mouthed, gobsmacked expression on his face.

Sam paled considerably. "Oh. Oh god." One hand flew up to press against her lips, her eyes widening.

Lips pursed, Daniel shook his head, his brow furrowed. "What? Sam, I don't understand. Who...who kissed you?"

Slowly, Sam lowered her hand from her mouth. "You did." She all but whispered.

Daniel practically felt his jaw hit the floor. "Wh-what? N-no I...I didn't...I wouldn't..."

Sam squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then began to pace in front of Daniel's desk.

"The other Daniel. It was the other Daniel. When we were on the ship, before they hijacked us, he...he..." She stopped in front of him, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have brought it up." She turned to leave and Daniel found himself springing up out of his chair.

"Wait!"

She paused, looking over at him.

Daniel struggled to get his words out. "This kiss. You...liked...it?" He held his breath as he stared at her, awaiting the axe to drop.

Sam exhaled a breathy laugh. "You could say that."

Daniel's mind whirred. He thought this must be how Jack felt when all the Ancient knowledge was downloaded into his brain. He felt like his head may explode.

"But...but you and Jack..." Daniel's brows crushed together, his arms crossed over his body.

Sam laughed for real this time, and the sound somehow soothed Daniel's nerves.

"General O'Neill?"

"But everyone thought..."

Sam shook her head, preventing him from finishing that sentence. "There is no me and O'Neill. Never was and never will be. I realised a long time ago that the only reason I had set my sights on Jack was because I knew nothing would or could ever happen between us. I was...protecting myself. Distracting myself."

Daniel scratched at the stubble on his jaw. "But Janet said her Sam was pregnant. I thought...I mean, I assumed..."

"Not Jack's."

"Then who's?"

Sam shifted, glancing down at the floor briefly looking somewhat guilty, before she met his eyes again. "Actually, I uh, overheard the Daniel from Janet's world mention how excited he was about soon becoming a father. So I assume..."

"Me?" Daniel squeaked, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead.

Sam nodded, her expression uncertain.

"Me...and you." Daniel marvelled, "So, the Teal'c from the first team that came through mentioned that you had just got back from your honeymoon. Does that mean..."

"The Daniel and Sam that tried to hijack our ship were married, yeah." Sam finished for him.

"Oh boy." Daniel's knees gave out and he collapsed back into his chair. He rubbed his face with both hands. "Sam, I'm so sorry. I hope you don't feel any pressure to..." He flicked his finger between the two of them, "You know..."

Sam sighed. Calmly, she moved to perch on the corner of Daniel's desk, her leg now achingly close to Daniel's.

"Daniel. I'm not pressured. In fact, I feel..." She glanced up at the ceiling as she searched for the word, "enlightened, I guess you could say. Like I know my path now. I'm more sure of myself...and my feelings." She beamed down at him, and Daniel swore his heart stuttered in his chest.

"F-feelings? You mean..." Daniel couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

Sam bit her lip, her expression a mixture of angst and anticipation.

Daniel's breath caught in his throat. He fought the urge to pinch himself.

"Why did you never tell me?" Daniel looked at her over the top of his glasses, eyebrows crashing together and upwards, creating ripples across his forehead.

"Well," Sam paused to look down at her shoes, then around the room, her eyes refusing to meet his, "you were still technically married to Sha're, and then you died, and then you…you…" Sam's mouth snapped shut audibly, as if she was biting off the words to prohibit them from leaving her lips. Her gaze was back down on her shoes.

"Sam?" Daniel reached for her, but fear still held him back, and his arm dropped awkwardly to the desk, his fingers just inches from where her hand lay. "Please, Sam," Daniel ducked his head to try to distinguish her expression. "I-I need to know."

Sam sighed, hesitating a moment before finally raising her head to meet his gaze. Daniel was immediately drawn in. Her eyes swirled with emotion, complex and deep, and he found himself wishing he could translate her like one of his ancient texts, decipher her and absorb her every thought and feeling, to understand completely every secret and mystery held within.

Sam bit into her bottom lip, and Daniel's fingers twitched as her fought back the impulse to reach out and touch where teeth met skin.

"You never came to me." Sam all but whispered. Her hand on the desk clenched and unclenched, and her gaze remained firmly locked somewhere around the vicinity of Daniel's chest. Daniel's eyes widened, but he said nothing, silently urging her to continue. "When you were dead…. When you were Ascended, you visited Teal'c and General O'Neill but…"

She trailed off, and Daniel waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts, hardly daring to hope.

"I tried to tell you once. After Kelowna. When you were in the infirmary, I tried…" Sam's eyed prickled uncomfortably with moisture, and she screwed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the onslaught of painful memories and the tears that always accompanied them.

"Oh, Sam." On instinct, Daniel stood and enveloped Sam in a hug, his arms wrapping around her shoulders as her head came to rest on his chest. He couldn't stand to see his Sam in pain. Especially when he was the cause.

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't...You don't understand. I couldn't see you. I knew if I saw you... If I talked to you... I would never want to go back. It would have been too hard. I was too...in love with you."

He felt Sam stiffen in his arms and he immediately wanted to take back his words, but it was too late. For better or worse, the truth was out there now.

He was in love with his best friend.

Slowly, Sam drew back to peer up at him.

"Why didn't _you _tell _me_?" She reiterated his own question.

"What, you mean besides the fact that I thought you were in love with Jack and that I stood no chance?" Daniel smirked in a self-deprecating manner. "Actually, I… It was when you found me on Vis Uban." Daniel's voice lost its humour, and he dropped his arms from around Sam's shoulders, shoving his hands into his pockets instead.

"I think I have loved you for a long time, but…when you said there was nothing between us, I guess I thought I was mistaken. When my memories finally did come back I figured you meant it when you said we were just good friends. And I would have never wanted to jeopardise that. I…couldn't lose you."

Sam nodded, a slow smile beginning to spread across her face. "For two geniuses, I guess we've been pretty dumb, huh?"

Daniel met her gaze; her smile was catching, and he felt the corners of his own mouth curling upwards in a dumbfounded grin. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Sam reached out and grasped the edge of his sleeve, sliding off the desk to stand before him as she tugged his hands from his pockets.

Daniel's heart beat erratically in his chest as he gazed down at this woman, this beautiful woman standing before him. Their fingers entwined, palms pressed together like two matching pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. He had only ever dared to dream that they would be here, like this, so close to her that he could practically feel her body heat.

"So," Daniel cleared his throat, "Erm, about that kiss… how ah, how was it…I?"

Sam leaned in, her lips just millimetres from his ear. "Give me a second and I'll show you." Sam murmured, before swiftly moving away to the other side of his desk. Blood rushed in Daniel's ears and he inhaled sharply, realising he had momentarily forgotten to breathe.

Sam opened up his laptop, her fingers rapidly clacking over the keys as she worked. Moments later, she glanced over her shoulder towards the corner of the ceiling. Daniel followed her gaze, eyes widening when the blinking red light on the room's security camera beeped once and then died.

Bewildered, he looked back to Sam. "Did you just..."

A smirk crept across Sam's face, and Daniel would have blushed, but all the blood in his body was suddenly rerouted elsewhere as he realised what her actions indicated she wanted him to do to her.

Daniel's breath caught in his throat as he drank in the sight of her before him. She regarded him carefully, waiting, anticipating. In a few steps, he crossed the short distance between them.

"What a devious woman you are, Samantha Carter."

Sam grinned slyly up at him, "Well, didn't you want to know what happened on the _Prometheus_?"

All Daniel could do was nod – words had escaped him in all 23 languages. Tentatively, Daniel raised one hand and ran his index finger down the side of her face, over her cheek and along her jawline, savouring the way her eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment.

When she spoke again, her voice was low, husky; "You pulled me down a dark corridor." Daniel's finger continued its journey down the side of her neck. "And then you told me, you didn't want to risk dying again without doing this." She leant inwards, her body brushing up against his and setting his nerves on fire. Her breath was warm against his face, her lips just an inch from his. "And then you kissed me." She murmured, and Daniel closed the gap between them, their lips crashing together. Daniel cupped her face in both his hands, his fingertips rubbing against the base of her scalp and through the tendrils of her hair as their mouths moved together; consuming, devouring. He felt her arms come up to wrap around his neck, pulling him in closer, deeper.

Eventually, they broke apart, breathing heavily. Sam stared up at him through hooded eyes while he tried to catch his breath. "Then, you pushed me up against the wall." Daniel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, never expecting that he would be so forward in any universe, however his body was already responding, and he didn't want to disappoint.

Slowly, he walked her backwards until her back met with the cool concrete. He bent his head to meet her lips, warm and soft against his. He braced himself against the wall, his forearms framing her head as her tongue flicked out, tasting him and drawing him in. Sam's fingers entwined in his hair, and he shuddered when her nails dragged across his scalp.

"And then," Sam mumbled in between their fervent kisses, "you lifted me up," their mouths met again, "and wrapped my legs around you."

Daniel groaned against her lips, before compliantly obeying. He wrapped one arm around her waist to secure her, and slid the other around the back of her thighs, hoisting her into his arms and propping her up against the wall. Her hands gripped his shoulders, the ends of her hair tickling his face. The scent of her shampoo wafted around him – strawberries and vanilla. He felt drunk.

Sam wriggled, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she shifted her weight back, "Then, you did this." She dropped her hips down, her thighs tightening around him and – _oh! Gods!_

Her hips rolled against his straining erection and Daniel thought he might pass out. His forehead dropped down to rest on her shoulder and he fought to remain upright. "Uhng. Sam." He moaned as she rolled her hips again, and he bit down on the soft flesh at the junction of her shoulder as his body responded in kind, his pelvis thrusting against her. Sam hummed in pleasure, the friction driving them both slowly insane.

"The-then what happened?" Daniel bit out; he could hardly take any more.

He heard Sam chuckle, "Then we were interrupted."

Daniel growled, "Not this time."

Tightening his grip, he lifted her back into his arms, and with a few short strides he moved them towards his desk. Deftly, he swept his arm across the desk's surface, sending heavy tomes crashing to the ground and papers fluttering. He lowered Sam to the desk, their mouths meeting once again and their hands now free to explore each other's bodies.

Sam grasped his jacket lapel in both hands, tugging the material back and over his shoulders. He shrugged the jacket off, letting it fall to the floor. His hands found her neck, fingertips skimming over her rapid pulse and under her collar, sliding her own jacket from her arms.

Sam's hand slipped under Daniel's black military shirt, her fingertips skimming dangerously close to the skin at the top of his belt, causing Daniel's abdominals to contract. She tugged at his shirt and Daniel readily obliged, their locked lips parting for a moment as he pulled the garment over his head.

Sam leant back on her elbows, eyeing his bare chest appreciatively, and Daniel paused for a moment to drink her in. Her beautiful blue eyes were dark and hooded with lust, her face flushed, her chest heaving as she caught her breath, her lips swollen and glistening from their passionate frenzy. Daniel wanted to burn this image into his mind. He had thought of having her like this many times; in the privacy of his shower or alone in bed late at night, he had imagined her body withering beneath his own a thousand times over, but now that she was actually before him, he wanted to savour every moment.

Growing impatient, Sam gripped the hem of her own shirt, pulling it up and over her head in a swift motion, leaving her in only her black crop bra.

Daniel groaned, his member twitching at seeing her exposed and laid out before him. He fell forward onto his hands, hovering over her. Gathering all the strength and willpower he possessed, he paused. "Sam wait," his voice had become gravelly, rough with need, "maybe we shouldn't..."

Sam smiled sweetly, her hand gently caressing his cheek. "I think we've already waited long enough, don't you?" He held her gaze for a moment, needing to be sure, needing her to be sure.

She wrapped her other hand in his hair, drawing him back down to her, their mouths joining hungrily once more. His hands explored her body, cupping her breasts and trailing over her toned stomach as their tongues battled for dominance. Her nails raked up the skin on his back and he growled, his hips snapping forward into her, making her gasp. Pleased by her response, he repeated the motion, capturing her moan with his lips. He trailed his hands along the smooth skin of her arms, gripping her wrists tightly and pinning them to the desk above her head as he rocked against her centre, swallowing her gasps and moans. Daniel's core tightened as fire built in his belly. He fought it down, not wanting to give in just yet. He needed more; the friction alone wasn't enough.

As if reading his mind, Sam tugged at his hair, her lips moving to his ear. "Daniel," she moaned, her tongue flicking out to capture his earlobe, taking it into her mouth. Daniel groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't know if he could last much longer.

"Daniel, I need..."

**WHOOP WHOOP "UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION" WHOOP WHOOP**

Sargent Harriman's voice blared over the speakers as the base alarm shrieked.

Daniel groaned, but for an entirely different reason this time, as he buried his head in Sam's chest. Sam laughed at his obvious torment and sat up, forcing him upright. She shimmied off the desk and wriggled past him to scoop her clothes off the floor.

"Sorry Daniel," She grinned as she pulled her black shirt over her head and slung her jacket over her shoulder, "looks like you've been interrupted again." She looked at him with a mix of pity and amusement; his expression must look pained.

She moved towards the door, before realising he wasn't following her. She looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyebrow raised quizzically.

"You coming?"

Picking his own clothes up off the floor, he held them in front of his crotch, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He cleared his throat, heat flushing his face.

"Erm, tell them I'll just...be five minutes." He looked down pointedly.

Sam snorted, her fingers pressed against her lips trying, and failing, to hide her grin. Turning, she unlocked the door and swung it open, preparing to head out.

"Uh, Sam?"

She paused to glance back at him, her eyes still twinkling in amusement.

"I'm…well, I'm glad this universe finally caught up to the rest of them."

She beamed at him, the light from the open door catching in the ends of her hair and making them glow. She was angelic, and Daniel thought his heart might burst at the notion that she might be finally, irrevocably, his.

"Me too, Daniel. Me too."

_~ FIN ~_


End file.
